The Trigema Heat Control is a heated jacket that keeps you warm during outdoor activities or in cooler homes and work spaces. In practical tests, it proves to be effective, robust and very practical.
Even if you wear several layers of clothing on top of each other in winter, if you don't exert yourself physically, you will cool down in the long run. Unless one of the layers is a heated jacket that spreads cozy warmth over the body. Since last year, the German sports and leisure clothing manufacturer Trigema has also been offering a thermal jacket. ntv.de tested whether the Trigema Heat Control keeps what the big name of the traditional Swabian company promises. After all, the warm jacket costs around 307 euros without a battery.
At first glance, the Trigema Heat Control looks like a normal sporty functional jacket with a stand-up collar that you can wear while jogging, for example. It also feels like it, because it is a so-called softshell jacket whose microfibre is windproof, water-repellent and breathable. As expected, the workmanship is of high quality, according to Trigema the heat control is sewn at the Burladingen headquarters.
An indication that this is no ordinary sports and leisure jacket is two rubber buttons on top of each other on the left chest, on which a V and an H are embossed above the company logo. What you don't see: Under the neon green lining, they are connected to a fine fabric into which carbon fibers have been incorporated.
The carbon fabric, developed and manufactured in Turkey, is powered by silver threads from a battery that is housed in an extra compartment in the left pocket. This creates heat that can be regulated in three stages from 40 to 60 degrees using the rubber knobs. The buttons light up blue at the lowest level, green at the middle level, and red at the highest level. The front and back can be adjusted separately.
ntv.de tested the Heat Control with a power bank from the Chinese manufacturer Anker, which has a capacity of 13,000 milliampere hours (mAh). With it, the jacket costs around 387 euros. As high as the quality of the battery is, it is not worth 80 euros. You can easily find good power banks with double the capacity at half the price online.
What is important is shown by the manufacturer in an exemplary manner in brief instructions on a large label on the inside right of the jacket. What is missing is the possible size of the battery. Because only batteries that have the compact dimensions of the Anker power bank of 9.5 x 8 x 3 cm fit in the bag with the two USB-A plugs. The weight of the battery is the only reminder that you're wearing a heated jacket - as long as you don't turn it on.
In principle, you can wear the Heat Control alone over a t-shirt or sweater, in spring, in autumn or on cold summer days it will certainly keep you warm enough. However, it is important to ensure that the jacket fits snugly in order to transfer the heat directly to the body.
Not only now in winter it is much more effective and efficient to wear them under an insulating jacket. ntv.de wore them outdoors under a down anorak and at home or in the office under a wool jacket. Then it is usually sufficient to heat on level 1 or 2. It is helpful that you can remove the sleeves of the jacket, which are attached with a zipper.
Long walks or visits to the market, for example, were very pleasant even at temperatures close to minus 10 degrees. The heat is distributed across the entire surface of the carbon fabric - according to Trigema, this is a big difference compared to competing products, which only warm up selectively. In the back, this is reminiscent of comfortable seat heating in a car. You also don't get cold hands and feet as quickly because the body doesn't draw warm blood from there to protect the vital internal organs.
This is also the case indoors, where you can turn down the heating by a few degrees thanks to the Trigema Heat Control. 18 degrees room temperature feels like 20 degrees with a heated jacket. If you lie on the sofa under a blanket, it can even be a bit cooler.
The zipper can be opened from below so that the jacket is also optimally warm when you are lounging on the couch or armchair, for example. The Heat Control does not crease, but rests on the stomach, back or waist.
But it would be a short-lived pleasure if the battery didn't last long. But in the test, the lights on the jacket did not go out too quickly. The 13,000 mAh of the Anker power bank lasted about three to 3.5 hours on the highest level (red), about four to 4.5 hours on the medium level (green) and even 5.5 hours on the lowest level (blue). six hours.
For longer uses, a second battery is more worthwhile than a power bank with a larger capacity. The battery can be changed quickly and you can charge one battery while the other is being drained.
If you wear the Trigema Heat Control often and like it, it will eventually get dingy. According to the manufacturer, you can then wash them at 30 degrees on a gentle cycle, you just have to remove the battery first. To see whether Trigema had let some air rise to be on the safe side, ntv.de put the jacket in the washing machine at 40 degrees - it survived that too without a trace.
You don't have to be particularly careful with the heat control. There is no need to worry about the carbon fibers or the integrated silver threads tearing or breaking. You can crumple them up or lay them down however you like. In principle, the jacket can be treated like any other casual jacket.
All in all, the Trigema Heat Control was convincing across the board. The heat that is generated across the board is extremely pleasant, the jacket is practical, robust and of high quality, and the endurance thanks to the efficiency of the carbon fiber heating is pleasing. The price with or without battery is very high, but so is the quality.
